“After the 4.7-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, felt in several areas of the country, concerns about the structural resistance of houses in the event of an earthquake are increasing.”
This Monday, Portugal felt the ground shake with some intensity for the second time in six months. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 4.7, was felt in several areas of the country, with greater impact in the Lisbon region.
This has raised concerns about the resistance of buildings in the event of a seismic event. It is estimated that around 190,000 people in Lisbon live in houses without earthquake-resistant construction.
Architect André Caiado is part of a team dedicated to the rehabilitation of the Baixa Pombalina district.
“Nowadays, we are continuously rehabilitating buildings. Every time we finish restoring a building, we ensure that it will respond in the best possible way to a potential disaster of this type,” he said in statements to SIC Notícias.
André Caiado assures that what is being done in Portugal is “as good as what is done in other seismic zones of the world, namely in Japan or California.”
However, the architect issues an important warning regarding rehabilitation works carried out without any supervision.
“It is important to remind everyone that when we want to expand our living room and remove a wall, we cannot do it just because we want a bigger room. We must consult an architect, we must talk to specialists to understand what impact this will have on our apartment, on the neighbors, and on the building as a whole.”
To SIC Notícias, he revealed that one of the main problems they encounter is the alterations made to buildings over the decades, “particularly on ground floors to create shops; we have removed parts of the buildings that later lose quality.”
New earthquakes recorded near Seixal
This Tuesday, two new earthquakes were recorded near Seixal, with magnitudes of 2.4 and 1.8 on the Richter scale.
According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the epicenter of the new tremors is located about 12 km southwest of Seixal.
The 2.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded by the Continental Seismic Network stations at 10:36 a.m. (local time) and was felt with a maximum intensity of II/III on the Modified Mercalli scale in the municipality of Sesimbra (Setúbal). It was also felt with lower intensity in the municipalities of Lisbon, Almada, and Palmela (Setúbal).
The smaller tremor (magnitude 1.8) was recorded at 11:34 a.m. and was not felt.
Sic Noticias – Bárbara Ferreria e Joana Rita de Almeida, 18 Fevereiro 2025